Applet download in a communication system

ABSTRACT

A system comprises a first communication device and a second communication device. The first communication device is arranged to communicate with the second communication device via a communication network using a first communication protocol. The first communication device is arranged to send a message to the second communication device via the communication network using the first communication protocol. The message is designed for a second communication protocol. The second communication device is arranged to send the message to a third communication device. The third communication device is being arranged to understand the second communication protocol.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention concerns the downloading of applets in a communication system.

The communication system includes a first communication device and a second communication device. In this system, The first communication device is arranged to communicate with the second communication device via a communication network using a first communication protocol. The first communication device is arranged to send a message to the second communication device via the communication network using the first communication protocol.

The system can be, for example, a mobile communication system that is arranged to administrate applications and files in a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The ETSI (European Telecommunication Standards Institute) GSM (Global System for Mobile communication) 3.48 (or 3.40) standard defines the commands required to administrate remotely the files and applications resident on a SIM card. The underlying communication channel is the SMS (Short Message)

The 3.48 standard also specifies the security protocols to be used for such messages.

When installing applications on a Smart card in a reader, keys are distributed to the local PC to allow the key presentation to the card.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to have a system which is more simple.

According to an aspect of the invention, a system comprising a first communication device and a second communication device, the first communication device being arranged to communicate with the second communication device via a communication network using a first communication protocol, the first communication device being arranged to send a message to the second communication device via the communication network using the first communication protocol, the message being designed for a second communication protocol, wherein the second communication device is arranged to send the message to a third communication device, the third communication device being arranged to understand the second communication protocol.

The first communication protocol can be, for example, an IP based protocol.

The second communication protocol can be, for example, a security protocol which is part of the ETSI GSM 3.48 standard.

The second communication device can be, for example, a personal computer PC, a PDA, etc.

The third device can be, for example, a SIM card.

The message can be, for example, a secured SMS (Short Message Service) message.

According to the invention, no keys need to be distributed in personal computers because the secured SMS message is sent as such to the SIM card.

Thanks to the invention, the system is more simple and more sure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to simplify the description, in the drawings the same elements have the same references.

FIG. 1 is the global architecture of the system.

FIG. 2 is the meaning of the status byte of the SMS message.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the access to SIM card services using a PDA via an Infrared connection.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the access to Card services via interactive distribution points.

FIG. 5A, 5B, 5C are sequence diagrams of operations for access to SIM cards services via a Web connection.

FIG. 6 summarizes possible options regarding the setting of a reply level field.

The invention will be better understood by reading the following description, given as an example and in reference to the appended drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The ETSI (European Telecommunication Standards Institute) GSM (Global System for Mobile communication) 3.48 (or 3.40) standard defines the commands required to administrate remotely the files and applications resident on a SIM card. The underlying communication channel is the SMS (Short Message)

The 3.48 standard is also specifying the security protocols to be used for such messages.

When installing applications on a Smart card in a reader, keys are distributed to the local PC to allow the key presentation to the card.

But, the applet download and the file management can be done on another channel, i.e. Internet.

One aspect of the invention is to make use of the 3.48 specification and use it on a different communication channel, i.e. Internet.

The system that will compute the 3.48 message will manage the construction of the messages and the management of the security.

The transport layer will take care of the distribution of the messages to the card by the other channel.

In the Internet case, the system will make use of

-   -   a web server that will request and receive the 3.48 messages,     -   a web client equipped with a Smart Card accepting device         (Reader) connected to the client. The reader will hold the SIM         card during the SMS (Short Message Service) transfer operation.

A SMS message is a text message service that enables short messages to be sent and transmitted from a cell phone. A SMS operation enables the transmission of text messages between mobile phones and other systems such as, for example, electronic mail, paging and voice mail.

The smart card accepting device can be, for example, a mobile handset equipped with a SIM card. The SMS messages, for example, a SMS command message, are downloaded from the client PC (Personal Computer) to the SIM card via an infra red connection.

The invention provides, in particular, the following advantages:

-   -   Use of GSM 03.48 format     -   The same security is used across the distribution channel     -   There is no need for key distribution, and this results in an         enhanced security by reducing the risk of key piracy.     -   The keys are kept on the server side in a secured storage area.     -   The intelligence in the client computer is limited.     -   Use of Mobile Infra red connection:     -   Possibility to perform operations on the card (sending applet,         or configure the card) without removing the smart card from the         handset.

The overall architecture of the system is described on FIG. 1.

A secured physical area comprises:

-   -   A database containing OTA (Over The Air) keys for the SIM cards         of he subscriber's SIM cards.     -   A Secure SMS message generator. Its role is to generate the 3.48         ormatted messages, which will be transmitted to the end user SIM         Card. The generation of those messages requires the knowledge of         OTA keys of the end user SIM card, which are stored in the key         database.     -   A web server which will transmit the secure SMS messages over         the internet

In our illustrated example, the system further comprises a client PC arranged to communicate to a SIM card, using a vector device and/or a vector channel. The PC will receive the transmitted SMS messages and will send them to the SIM cards via the vector channel.

The vector device can be, for example:

-   -   A smart card reader connected to the PC serial or USB (Universal         Serial Bus) port.     -   An infrared enabled mobile handset. In this case the SMS         messages are sent via the infra red link between the PC and the         mobile handset.     -   A blue tooth enabled mobile handset. In the case the SMS         messages are sent from the PC to the handset via the blue tooth         connection.     -   An USB cable connecting an USB enabled SIM to the USB bus of the         PC.     -   A contact less reader in the case where the SIM card has a dual         mode interface.

EXAMPLE 1 Infra Red Interface with a SIM Card Inserted in a Mobile

SIM cards services aim at providing the user with SIM card related value added services. Those services may need the installation of an applet on the card, giving access to extra functionality. Some services may help the user to configure its card, or upload or download data from/to it.

Some mobile handsets are equipped with an infrared port. The purpose of the port is usually two fold:

-   -   It allows a remote control of the handset via the Infra red port         from an external device (portable PC or PDA (Personal Digital         Assistant)).     -   It enables to use the handset for sending and receiving SMS         message from an external device such as a portable PC or a PDA.

In the illustrated example, the interaction between the external device and the handset is done by means of AT commands. Those commands have been standardized by the ETSI in 2 recommendations:

-   -   GSM07.07 (AT command set for GSM mobile equipment),     -   and GSM 07.05 (equipment interface for short message services         and cell broadcast services).

Using the AT commands described in the GSM 07.05 recommendation, it is therefore possible to send an SMS message to the mobile via the Infra red interface. This is done using the 2 steps AT command AT+CMGW as described in GSM 07.05.

When a message is sent to the mobile using this interface, the mobile acknowledge the reception of the message and pass it to the SIM card for storage in a file named AF SMS file as described in the GSM 11.11 recommendations. However, in our example, before being handed to the SIM, the SMS message is prepended with a status byte indicating its origin.

FIG. 2 indicates the meaning of the status byte. In the illustrated example, when a message is received by the mobile via the infrared port, it is passed to the SIM card with a status byte of either 05(1 0 1) or 07 (1 1 1) depending on the optional parameter STAT passed to the AT+CMGW command.

The SIM card then process the TPDU (Transport Protocol Data Unit) of the message and if the TP Protocol Identifier field of the SMS message is 41 or 7F, it will recognize the SMS message as a command carrying one and will attempt to execute the card commands.

However, in order for this to happen, the SIM card Operating system software must enable the processing of SMS messages with Status by 05 or 07. Otherwise the SMS message will just be stored in the EF (Elementary File) SMS memory.

The download of applications to the mobile via the SIM port is more fficient than the OTA (Over The Air is Schlumberger's Trademark) download because there is no bandwidth bottleneck. Furthermore it is not likely to be the origin of a congestion of the SMS channels. So in some cases, access to the SIM card by the infrared channel may be more attractive that OTA access.

Specification of the Reply level field:

The RL field is part of the 03.48 header. It specifies the reply level wanted to acknowledge the SMS message.

Care must be taken to set this field appropriately when sending Command SMS message to the SIM card via the infrared interface.

In our example, setting the reply level to 00 will prevent the mobile to try to send acknowledgement messages to the SMS center to indicate it has received and processed the message. In our example, setting the RL field to 9 will enable the sending of the acknowledgement SMS message.

Care must be taken when constructing the message to set the RL field appropriately. Preferably, an acknowledgement message will be requested whenever we want the message reception to be acknowledged by SMS.

EXAMPLE 2 An Application of the Invention Could be the Access to SIM Card Services Via a Web Connection

This application consists in accessing SIM card services via, for example a PC connected to the SIM card, by one of the means mentioned above.

In our exemplary embodiment, the process of invention comprises the following initialization steps:

1^(st) step: The end user working in front of his PC starts his web-browser and connects to the web site of his operator. Among the choices, some “SIM Card services” are proposed.

2^(nd) step: User is clicking on “SIM cards services” A new page is proposed to invite the user to insert/connect his SIM card in the PCs peripheral.

3^(rd) step: The web page contains a signed applet (the middleman) which, can be installed and remain on the PC and which will enable the connection to the SIM card via the vector channel. This applet will make the interface between the SIM card and the remote web server. It will first retrieve and send to the remote server the identification of the SIM card.

4^(th) step: The user is requested for his PIN number to unlock locally the card access.

5^(th) step: The User selects his SIM card service. Some services can be fully managed locally within the applet. Some other services are requiring more security to access the card. Let's assume, the user select an “applet download”. This will trigger the installation of a new application can be installed on the SIM Card.

6^(th) step: the web server receives the request, route the request to the Secure Message Generator which accesses the database holding the description of the end user SIM card, including the appropriate OTA keys

7^(th) step: The user is proposed a list of available applets for his SIM and selects one such applet for download. The request is routed from the user browser to the remote web server via the Internet

8^(th) step: the web server requests the generation of the set SMS messages corresponding to the applet from the secure SMS generation module. The SMS generated are using the ETSI 3.48 standard to secure the messages. The secret key used for that computation is only known by the SMG and the SIM card itself.

9^(th) step: the messages are encapsulated in a Html Page and sent to the user browser to the attention of the middleman applet

10^(th) step: the browser applet processes the SMS and generate “envelop” commands to transmit the SMS to the SIM. The envelope command is standard in ETSI. The applet is also gathering the processing status and replies of those SMS. These statuses and replies will be used by the SMG to memorize the status of the card. (Install with success, list of applet already installed, failure . . . )

11^(th) step: The statuses and replies are sent to Secure message generator via the web server.

12^(th) step: Once the download is completed, the user is informed of the success of the operation Inform the user of success or failure of the operation via a status page which will be displayed in his web navigator.

If the PC is integrated in the mobile, then the Internet browser of the mobile is used to access the smart card.

This is not changing at all the benefit and usability of the solution.

Setting of the Reply level field:

In this type of application the setting of the Reply level field will depend on the type of vector used to send the SMS message to the SIM card as well as the chosen vector to acknowledge the reception of SMS messages. The different alternatives are summarized in FIG. 6.

EXAMPLE 3 Another Application of the Invention Could be an Access to SIM Card Services by Using a PDA Via an Infra Red Connection

In this application, the user accesses the SIM card services via a two phase processes as described on FIG. 3. In a first phase, the user first downloads the SMS messages to his handhelp PC, and then transmits them from the PDA to the SIM card via the infra red interface.

In this embodiment, the various steps of the operations could be as follows:

1—The user connects to the internet with his PDA. One way to do that is to use a mobile phone linked to the PDA with an infrared connection, but this is not the only way.

2—The user connects to the web site of the operator with the web browser on his PDA and authenticates himself. One way to achieve this is to enter his phone number. An SMS message will be sent back to his mobile with a code. The user must enter the code in the web browser of the pda in order to be given access to the SMS card services. There may be other ways to authenticate the user.

3—Upon the first connection, the user will download an application: “The SIM uploader” which can be installed on his PDA. This application will enable to retransmit the SMS messages from his PDA to the SIM card installed on his mobile handset by means of the infrared channel.

4—Once authenticated, the user will select the applet to download and initiate the download to his handhelp pc.

5—After downloading the applet to his PDA, the user disconnects from the internet and starts the SIM uploader application. This application will read the SMS messages previously stored on the PDA and send them to the mobile via the infra red interface.

6—The mobile handset acknowledges the reception of the messages and passes them to the SIM card for processing.

7—The SIM card processes the SMS messages and executes the commands. The SMS messages are formatted with a reply level of 09 indicating that acknowledgement SMS message are requested. So the mobile phone will send acknowledgement messages for each SMS received.

8—The operator receives the acknowledgement messages sent by the mobiles and can monitor the installation status of the application on the SIM card to the cards of its users.

EXAMPLE 4 Another Application of the Invention Could be the Access to SIM Cards Services Via Interactive Infra Red or Blue Tooth Distribution Points

This describes an application where the user accesses the SIM cards services via the use of Infra red or blue tooth interactive distribution points. Those points may be located in public area such as shopping centers, airports, train stations, or in private areas such as the hall of a large corporation depending on the type of service proposed.

The architecture of the application is summarized on FIG. 4. The overall principal is very similar to the previous application. Only the client terminal differs as well as the vector mode. The privileged vector modes may be either the Infrared handset channel or the bluetooth channel for convenience reasons.

FIG. 5A, 5B, 5C are sequence diagrams of operations for Access to SIM Cards services via a Web connection. The table describes the sequence of operations occurring for the application described in above section “Application of the invention. Access to SIM card services via a web connection”. Each operation can be executed by one of the following components:

-   -   The SIM Card     -   The Vector device     -   The middleman applet     -   The client PC     -   The web server     -   The message generator

The description hereinbefore illustrates the following features:

A system comprises a first communication device and a second communication device. The first communication device is arranged to communicate with the second communication device via a communication network using a first communication protocol. The first communication device is arranged to send a message to the second communication device via the communication network using the first communication protocol. The message is designed for a second communication protocol. The second communication device is arranged to send the message to a third communication device. The third communication device is being arranged to understand the second communication protocol.

The second communication device can be implemented in many different manners. In the description hereinbefore, the second communication device is a personal computer arranged to communicate with a SIM card. The second communication device can also be a Personal Digital Assistant or any other communication device, which is preferably arranged to communicate with an integrated circuit card or any other device arranged to understand the second communication protocol.

The message can be a text message or a video message or a multimedia message.

The first communication protocol can be an IP based protocol (IP=Internet Protocol) or any other type of protocol which is different from the second communication protocol.

The second communication protocol can be a GMS based protocol, UMTS based protocol, a GPRS based protocol or any communication protocol that is different from the first protocol.

We can also imagine that the second communication device has the same functionalities than the first communication device so that they are arranged to exchange messages designed for the second communication protocol using the first communication protocol. We can also create a fleet of devices arranged to exchange messages designed for the second communication protocol using the first communication protocol. 

1. A system comprising a first communication device and a second communication device, the first communication device being arranged to communicate with the second communication device via a communication network using a first communication protocol, the first communication device being arranged to send a message to the second communication device via the communication network using the first communication protocol, the message being designed for a second communication protocol, wherein the second communication device is arranged to send the message to a third communication device, the third communication device being arranged to understand the second communication protocol.
 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the message is signed and/or encrypted using a security protocol.
 3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the second communication device is a personal computer and the first communication protocol is an IP based protocol.
 4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the second communication protocol is a GSM based protocol.
 5. The system according to claim 2, wherein the security protocol is part of the ETSI GSM 3.48 standard and the message is a Short Service Message.
 6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the message is a Multimedia Service (MMS).
 7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the second communication device is a PDA.
 8. The system according to claim 1, wherein the third communication device is an integrated circuit card.
 9. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first communication device is arranged to generate the message.
 10. The system according to claim 2, wherein the first communication device is arranged to sign and/or encrypt the message using the security protocol. 